De Beers 2025 Financial Results: $511M Loss Driven by Falling Diamond Prices and Stock Rebalancing
Diamond miner De Beers reported a challenging 2025 financial year, posting an underlying loss before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $511 million, compared with a loss of $25 million in 2024.
The decline was driven by a lower average rough price index and stock rebalancing initiatives.
Production and Sales
Rough diamond production fell 12% to 21.7 million carats in 2025, down from 24.7 million carats the previous year.
Despite the lower output, De Beers’ mining operations maintained solid operational performance, producing in line with prevailing demand.
Total revenue remained subdued at $3.5 billion, slightly up from $3.3 billion in 2024. Consolidated sales volumes of 20.9 million carats aligned closely with De Beers’ share of global production, supplying markets where demand persisted.
The company’s full-year consolidated average realised price decreased by 7% to $142 per carat, from $152 per carat in 2024.
This decline was primarily due to a 12% reduction in the rough price index and the effect of stock rebalancing initiatives, partially offset by strong demand for higher-value diamonds. When factoring in stock rebalancing, the effective index fell by 25% year-on-year.
Stock rebalancing generated trading losses of $424 million, as inventory purchased at higher prices was sold at significantly lower effective prices.
Additionally, 2024 benefited from a one-off sale of a non-diamond royalty right valued at $127 million.
Costs and Capital Expenditure
Unit costs fell 8% to $86 per carat, supported by cost-reduction initiatives that offset the impact of lower production volumes.
Capital expenditure was reduced by 34% to $353 million, down from $536 million in 2024, reflecting cash preservation measures, rephasing of the Venetia underground life extension project, and rationalisation of stay-in-business capex.
An impairment of $2.3 billion (before tax and non-controlling interests) to Anglo American’s carrying value of De Beers was recognised due to lower forecasted prices.
This reflects shifts in customer preference from natural to laboratory-grown diamonds and an oversupply of rough diamonds relative to demand.
Strategic Initiatives
De Beers continued to implement its Origins strategy in 2025, focusing on streamlining operations and boosting consumer demand for natural diamonds. Key initiatives included:
Signing the Luanda Accord, formalising a government-industry marketing commitment for natural diamonds.
-Launching new marketing campaigns in the US and India.
-Introducing a branded polished diamond offering.
-Advancing the company’s brand portfolio strategy.
Cost reduction efforts delivered over $100 million in cumulative overhead savings through operational streamlining.
Near-term trading conditions are expected to remain challenging due to macroeconomic volatility, conservative inventory management in the midstream, and continued penetration of laboratory-grown diamonds.
In the medium term, gradual normalisation of inventory levels is expected to support improvement. Full differentiation between natural and laboratory-grown diamonds may be delayed, as some retailers maintain high retail margins on lab-grown stones despite falling wholesale prices.
Consumer demand is anticipated to remain stable in the US and India, with gradual recovery in China as economic conditions stabilise.
De Beers will continue to monitor trading conditions to align output with demand. Unit cost guidance for 2026 is around $80 per carat, lower than 2025’s $86 per carat, reflecting higher production volumes and ongoing cost-control measures.
Anglo American continues to pursue a dual-track separation for De Beers, with a structured sale process currently underway.
